Tusk

"Tusk" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP of the same name. The song peaked at number eight in the United States for three weeks, reached number six in the United Kingdom (where it was certified Silver for sales of over 250,000 copies), number five in Canada, and number three in Australia. The song's lyrics deal with a frequent theme in Fleetwood Mac songs. The singer suspects his partner of being unfaithful, asking "Why don't you tell me what's going on? Why don't you tell me who's on the phone?" Lindsey Buckingham wrote the song and is the lead singer on the track. The single was released with two different picture sleeves in many territories: the first featured the black and white picture of producer/engineer Ken Caillat's dog Scooter snapping at a trouser leg, the same as that used for the album cover, whilst the second featured a plain cover with the same font as the album cover but without the dog picture. A limited promotional 12-inch version, featuring mono and stereo versions, was also released to US radio stations. A slightly different mix of the track appeared on the retrospective four-disc compilation 25 Years – The Chain in 1992. History Looking for a title track for the as yet unnamed album, Mick Fleetwood suggested that they take the rehearsal riff that Lindsey Buckingham used for sound-checks. Fleetwood recalled that the band played the riff the same way every night with the intention of developing it further in the studio. Producers Richard Dashut and Ken Caillat then created a drum-driven production. Buckingham stated that "We found a 15-second section we liked and made a circular loop of two-inch tape that went across the room. We let it run for ten minutes and put the song over it." In addition to the standard drum kit, Fleetwood Mac also experimented with different found sounds on the song, including a Kleenex box and lamb chops. Fleetwood originally tried to slap the side of his leg for a desired percussive effect, but he instead purchased a leg of lamb from the butcher and slapped the food with a spatula. This overdub was ultimately unused for the final recording.